Pentagon Says "Case Closed" on "Missile" Mystery

Pentagon Says "Case Closed" on "Missile" Mystery

It's the mysterious video creating a worldwide uproar. What exactly is that streaking across the Southern California sky?

The Pentagon says it doesn't belong to the United States military. Experts say it could be an optical illusion caused by the vapor trail of a passenger jet.

INSIDE EDITION is now speaking to the guy who shot the video. Like everyone else, he's mystified.

"I'd like to know what it is," says Gil Leyvas, who's been a helicopter cameraman for KCAL and KCBS in Los Angeles for 11 years.

Leyvas says he was flying in the helicopter when he turned his camera toward the beautiful sunset to get a routine weather shot for the local news. About 35 miles off the coast of Los Angeles, over the Pacific Ocean, he saw the streak that's now being seen around the world.

"You can't deny the video. It's there, and it speaks for itself. It has to be explained," Leyvas says.

So what could it be? INSIDE EDITION's Paul Boyd showed the video to Dr. Michio Kaku, a physics professor of the City University of New York.

"How can you be so sure that this is not a missile launch?" asks Boyd.

"The only thing I'm sure about is that this is not Superman," says Kaku. "But if I were to put money on the table, I'd say that this is an airplane. It's going in the wrong direction for a missile, it's not accelerating, in fact it's even changing direction. Missiles never change direction!"

Internet bloggers have also weighed in with some strange theories. One blogger speculated it was a publicity stunt for NBC's sci-fi series The Event.

Another posted the off-the-wall theory that defeated California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman was on the missile: "A dejected Meg Whitman decided to leave earth behind after spending $141 million of her fortune on a losing Gubernatorial run."

A spokesperson from the Pentagon says they have investigated the incident and say they are confident it was a plane. As far as they are concerned, case closed.